The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-07-08
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Sports Of the Chase a. Illustrative
of the Truths OF the Gospel
taith and Personal Conservation the
A. weapons Needed fer the Capture OF
Lost souls-The Sinners
|. Death Leap.

a weapons Needed fer the CaPture OF
Lost souls-The Sinners
II Death Leap
As the teef for a recent discourse at
The Broekiyn Tabernacle, Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage chose the sport of hunting, By
which 10 illustrate the pursuit and capt
ture Of mems souls for Christ His text
was.
He was . mighty hunter before the Lord
GeResis x,9
Mr. Talmage said;
In our day, hunting is a sport; but in
The lands and the times infested with
wild beasts, it was a matter of life or
death with the people. 1t was very diff
fereut from going out on sunshiny after
noon with a patent breech-loader. to
shoot reed-birds on the fats, when
Achilles and Diomedes went out to clear
the land of lions and tigers and bears
Ny text sets forth Nimrod as hero,
when 1t presents him with broad Shout
ders, and shaggy apparei, and sun
Drowned face, and arm bun ched with
muscie-~a mighty hunter before the
Lord
think he used the bow and arrow
with great su ccess practicing archery.
Ihave thought il it is such a grand
thing and such q brave thing to clear wild
beasts out Of country, if it Is not bet
ter and Drawer thing TO hunt down ard
destroy those great evils of society that
are stalking the land with fierce eye, and
bloody paw, and sharp tu.k, and
quick spring. / have wondered if
there is not such a thing as Cos
pei hunting. BY which those who have
been flying from the truth may BE- capt
ured for God and Heaven. The Lord
Jesus in his sermon used the art Of
an1hng for an Illustration when he SAID
Twill make you (, hers OF men.
And so l think l have authority for
0sin g hunting as an illustration of gospel
truth, and ! pray God that there may be
many a man in this congregation who
shall begin to study gospel archery, Of
whom IL may after awhile be said: He
vas a mighty hunter before the Lord"
How much awkward Christian work
there is done in the world! How many
good people there are who drive souls
away from Christ, instead Of bringing
them 10 himl-religious blunderers who
upset more than they right Their gun has
a crooked barrel and kicks as il goes Q f.
They are like a clumsy comrade W tho goes
along with skillful hunters: at the verv
moment he ought to be most quiet he is
cracking an alder or falling over a log,
and frightening away the game. How
few Chris tau people have lever learned
the les son Of which read at the begin
ming of the service-how that the Lord
Jesus Christ at the well went from talk
i1g about Gu POT water TO the most prac-
deal religious truths, which won the won
ans soul forGod! Jesus in the wilderness
t.
good bread: it was very light bread, and
the yeas had done it's work thoroughly.
Christ. after he had broken the bread,
said to the people:
Beware Of the yeast or Of the leaven Of the
Pharisees.
So natural a transition it was; and how
easily they all ind erstood him, But how
few Christian people who understand how
to fasten the truths of God and rell gion
to the souls of men! Truman Osborne.
one of the evangelists who went through
this country some years ago. had won
derful art in the right direction He
cane u nv fathers house one day. and
while we were all seated in the room, he
sail:
"Mr Talmage, are all your children
Christians,'
Father said: "Yes, all but D>Witt-''
Then Truman Osborne looked down INTO
the fireplace, and began to tell a story of
a storm that came on the mountains. and
all the sheep we e in the fold: but there
was enc lamb outside that persisted in the
storm. Had he looked me in the eve. l
should have been angered when he toll
me that story; but he looked into the fire.
place, sBd it was so pathetically and
beautifully none that l never found any
reace until 1 was sure 1 was inside the
fold, where the other sheep are.
The arcters of Old times studied their
art They were very precise in the mat
ter. The old books gave special directions
- to how the archer should go and as to
what an archer saoul1 do. He must
stand erect and firm. his left foot little
in advance Of his right foot With his left
hand he must take hold Of the bow in the
middle, and then with the three fingers
and the thumb of his right hand he
should Law hold of the arrow and afsix it to
the string-so precise was the direction
given. But how clumsy we are about re-
ligious work How little skill and ca re
we exercise! How often our arrows M iss
the mark, Oh. that we might learn the
art Of doing good and become mighty
han tiers before the Lordr'
In the first place, il you want to be ef-
fectual in doing good, you must be very
sire of your weapon. There was some
thing very Fascinating about the archery
ot. oldea tinrea Perhaps youdo not know
what they co1A do with the bow aud ar
row. Why the chief battles fought BY
the English Plantageaets were with the
long oow. Thew could take the arrow Of
polished wood. feather it with the plume
of bird, an then It would ny from the
bow>string Of plated silk. The broad
fields OF Agincourt, and Sclway Moss,
and Neviile's Cross, heard the loud thrum
Of the srcher's bow-string.
Now, my Christian friends, we have a
mightier weapon than hat. 1t is the ar
row of the Gospel: it is a sharp arrow;
il is straight arrow: it is feathered
from the wing Of the dove of Gods spirit:
it flies from . bow made out OF the wood
Of the cross. As far as can es;im ate it
has brought down 900, 00o. 900 souls. Paul
knew how TO bring the notch OF that AZ
row onto that bew-string. and its ~hir
was heard tAreazh the Coriuthian
theaters, and through the court
room. until the knees Of Feiix
Knocked together 1t was that arrow
that stuck in Luther's heart when he
cried out: sOh. ay sins! Oh, my siasr'
If i strike man in the head, IT kills his
skepticism; If it strike him in the heel it
turns his step; IL At strike him in the
heart. he throws rp his hands, as did one
Of old when wounded in the battle, cry
ing oh, Galilean. Thou hast con-
quered.''
In the armory Of the Earl Of Pembroke
there are old eorslets which show that
the arrow Of the English used TO 60
through the ooastpixte, through the
body OF the warrior, and out through the
backplate. What a symbol Of that Cos
pei which IS sharper than a two-edeged
MI ~ "a liz;